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Political Rhetoric - Samenvatting

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Political Rhetoric - Samenvatting

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  • July 22, 2023
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Political Rhetoric
Lecture 1: Introduction
The importance of political rhetoric
 No politics without persuasion (=overtuiging)
 Different actors have different vision
 Reason: uncertainty
 Persuasion by speech vs. persuasion by force
 Persuasion is “a symbolic process in which communicators try to convince
other people to change their own attitudes or behaviors regarding an issue
through the transmission of a message in an atmosphere of free choice”
 = een symbolisch proces waarin communicatoren andere mensen
proberen te overtuigen hun eigen houding of gedrag met betrekking tot
een kwestie te veranderen door het overbrengen van een boodschap in
een sfeer van vrije keuze
 “Democracy = is distinguished as a form of governance by the extent of
persuasion relative to coercion" (Mutz, Sniderman & Brody, 1996)
 = democratie onderscheidt zich als bestuursvorm door de mate van
overreding ten opzichte van dwang
 The fundamental political skill?
 One of the most important aspects
 Persuasion is very important


What is the difference between persuasion by speech and persuasion by force?
 Persuasion by speech:
 Most powerful
 Used by political actors even in systems that aren’t democratic
 Gebruikt door politieke actoren, zelfs in systemen die niet democratisch zijn.
 Persuasion by speech has a voluntary aspect/decision to accept what this
person is saying/to be convinced
 You internalize it more, that’s why it is the most powerful


 Persuasion by force (geweld):
 By using violence/to threaten




1

,What is rhetoric?
Where does Greek ‘retoriketekhne’ come from?
 Rhetor: speaker
 Thekne: art
 Retoriketekhne: the art of speaking, the art to persuade others


What does studying rhetoric mean?
 = Learning the practical skills of persuasion
 = Studying the persuasiveness of speech
 Not limited to spoken words, also written word, visuals


Political rhetoric
Persuasion in politics: A way of achieving or keeping office, of use resources in specific
ways, of weakening opponents or sustaining alliances
 Een manier om een functie te bereiken of te behouden, om middelen op specifieke
manieren te gebruiken, om tegenstanders te verzwakken of bondgenootschappen in
stand te houden
 Many areas of rhetorical studies (law, marketing, organization)
 We look at the persuasion in the political realm
 Not limited to politicians:
 Emma Watson in United Nation for gender equality, Steven Van Gucht in the
pandemic, journalist at Fox News


Exercise - Martin Luther King speech
 “Most famous persuasive speech in history”
 Martin Luther King – I have a dream
 Activist leader of civil rights movement
 August 1963
 March on Washington for jobs and freedom
 100 years after Emancipation Proclamation (Lincoln)


Task: Do you find the speech persuasive?
Yes,
 He offers solutions to the problems
 It is an emotional speech, gives elements of hope
 Powerful words
 He tries to create a community, not only with black people

2

,  His credibility as a person: Who he is, displaying eloquence, expertise, reason
 Arousal of emotion (metaphors)
 Convincing arguments
 Use of rhetorical devices (repetitions, allusions, rhyme)
 How he speaks


The field of political rhetoric, a diverse research field?
 Different backgrounds, different questions
 Linguistics (rhetorical figures)
 Psychology (emotions vs. the cognitive)
 Political science (questions of power)
 Communication science (mass media)
 Each with their own terminology & research methods
 Difficulty: All these different fields don’t talk to each other


Rhetoric
Rhetoric, a contested notion
With what is rhetoric often associated?
 Words often associated with rhetoric: “mere rhetoric” & “empty rhetoric”
 Rhetoric is contrasted with reality
 Rhetoric is often associate with danger
 At the same time: no democracy without free speech?
 Essence is that we think that rhetoric is a good thing
 Everyone is allowed to express what they think, express their opinion


Rhetoric was central to ancient democracy
 Greece, 500BC
 From aristocracy to democracy
 Aristocracy: Only rich people can participate in the decision making
 Democracy: Everyone can participate in the decision making
 Highly participatory system
 Status of being citizen comes with obligations (de status van burger brengt
verplichtingen met zich mee)
 Rhetoric skills were important, everyone can speak up in the Ecclesia
 Teachers: sophist
 Sophist instructed the people in the techniques of persuasive rhetoric
 Cultural of oral transmission: People were used to listening to each other

3

, Politican: Any individual or group that seeks to promote a political position, whether inside or
outside formal institutions = elk individu of groep die een politiek standpunt probeert te
bevorderen, binnen of buiten formele instellingen.


Plato
Who is Plato?
 He didn’t like the turn to democracy (democracy = een manier van regeren die
afhangt van de wil van het volk)
 He is an aristocrat deeply dismayed by the teaching of the sophist = Hij is een
aristocraat die diep geschokt is door de leer van de sofist...


What did he say/do in his life?
 “Rhetoric is empty and dangerous”
 It can persuade most people of anything
 Rhetoric = a ‘rudderless boat’; “sophistries”
- Sophistries: Tricks to convince people of things that are not true
 A technique you better don’t use
 Can do bad instead of good (death of his mentor Socrates)
 Socrates = needed to drink poison (Plato a bit angry about this)
 Does not need to be declined with the truth
 Plato believed in one moral “truth”
 Allegory of the cave: We are stuck in a cave, and there is a fire behind us
and all that we see are the shadows from the real things, when we are going
outside, we can see the reality and see what really matters in life
 Only a small, smart elite can see this truth
 “The Republic”: Plato write a proposal for what society should look like
 Citizens were allowed to their class in society, and would dedicate themselves
to their own natural gifts
 Society should be based on reason
 We would be led by philosopher kings, use their wisdom and look inside at
what is best for the community
 Strict division:
1. Philosopher-kings = those who see everything
2. Guardians and traders
 Ideas were later criticized by e.g. Popper



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